By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
In a damning expose of Nigeria’s power sector rot, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has disclosed that over 68% of electricity consumers with prepaid meters are illegally bypassing their devices to guzzle power without paying, siphoning an estimated ₦500 billion annually from distribution companies (DisCos) and crippling efforts to stabilize the grid.
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The revelation, buried in NISO’s latest quarterly report released Thursday, paints a grim picture of widespread meter tampering and unauthorized connections, exacerbating blackouts for honest payers and inflating tariffs nationwide. NISO, the body overseeing grid operations, pegged the theft rate at 68.2% based on anomaly detections from smart grid data across 11 DisCos.
“This is not just theft; it’s sabotage of national infrastructure,” NISO Executive Director Dr. Mustapha Ahmed told DDNewsOnline. “Consumers think they’re beating the system, but they’re blacking out hospitals, schools, and factories.”
Common tactics include Meter Hacking by Rewiring to “freeze” readings during peak use, Illegal Taps of light line Direct from transformers, bypassing meters entirely and Software Tampering Using apps or magnets to reset prepaid credits.
Hotspots include Lagos (Ikeja Electric: 72% bypass rate), Kano (Kano DisCo: 69%), and Enugu (Enugu DisCo: 67%). Only 14.8% of Nigeria’s 12 million registered customers have prepaid meters; the rest endure estimated billing, fueling more resentment.
DisCos like Ikeja Electric vow “immediate prosecution” over fines, citing ₦50 billion lost in Lagos alone last year. “We’re upgrading to tamper-proof meters, but thieves adapt fast,” said Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Omotola Okoh.
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Energy analyst Dr. Chinedu Okereke: “68% bypass means DisCos can’t fund upgrades. Grid collapses follow.” The FCCPC and NERC push for “free metering” under the Meter Asset Provider scheme, but rollout lags.
NISO calls for tech fixes like AI monitoring and public shaming of offenders. With dry season peaks looming, the theft wave threatens another national blackout.
DDNewsOnline